The 85 yo tourist layout in shartlesville PA. Out side Lancaster is closing for good. Apparently they have been trying to sell it but with some interested parties but no deals were closed. With covid, the final,straw. I am sure though if somebody stepped up to talk sale, they would go for it.
It was an interesting layout to see. All handmade with whatever they could find, with imagination. Turn it into a layout item. The grandkids of the builder have gone to retirement with nobody to pass onto.
I used to take the boys there about once a year when they were young, but hadn’t been back for at least 20 years now. I wonder if they were still playing Kate Smith’s God Bless America to the end?
I read about it on another forum. I had never visited the place and it sounds like the owner(s) didn’t get offers acceptable to them, which is sort of understanding because they put many years, time, effort and expense into the place, so they would probably never get an offer that would relate to what they feel the value is. But that is probably not uncommon.
It was a wonderful thing, and one of the great icons of model railroading when I was young. I’d think this was worthy of preservation as a historic location, even if ‘not open to the public’.
Some of the problem might be that when the road was converted to Interstate standards it became difficult to get to it slthough it was clearly visible just the other side of a fence as you went by.
If you had kids jumping up and down with excitement in the back seat of your car you figured out how to get in. [:D]
I always wondered about the maintenance and repairs on the rolling stock. Those trains ran constantly and stuff wears out. There must have been one heck of a shop in the back and parts galore, and then you need employees who know how to fix them.
There is a thread over on the Toy Train forum as well, my post from there:
Yes, this is very sad news. I have been there multiple times as a child and as an adult with my own children and grandchildren.
I think one of the challanges these days for them was the fact that there is nothing else nearby of similar interest.
Strasburg PA, where the Strasburg Rail Railroad is, has a long list of train and model train attractions, including the ChooChoo Barn. A display similar to Roadside America although not as large or elaberate, but very nice none the less.
It is a shame no one was able to take it over. It would be interesting to know the asking price and recent revenues.
On a similar note, I recently saw where Northlandz, an HO display in Flemington, NJ, is apparently under new ownership and has been refurbished and reopened. The wife and I stopped there on a road trip we took about a decade ago, large but unimpressive in my view.
I live close to Strasburg, we go there several times a year on average.
Someone bought, moved, and reopened the electric map from Gettysburg. So unusual things do happen. But the location of Roadside America is kind of a tough sell.
America has a very large and diverse population. Most people are busy and rather focused. I don’t know what the owners have done to get the message out, but I’m sure somewhere there’s a person who’d jump at the chance to rescue this facility. They just don’t know it’s in a pickle. Maybe it won’t even be someone from the USA.
I saw this news a couple of days ago. They’ve been trying to sell for 3 years now, with no takers. It’s really a shame - it’s literally about a half hour from me. I’ve been thre countless times since I was a kid. I’ve gone as an adult because it’s just somethign you have to see. I’ve taken my kids there. I’ve taken the next generation there - I don’t have any grandkids yet, but my GF’s nephew and his wife and their two came for a visit and we went to Roadside America as well as Strasburg (oh was that ever a mistake - I didn’t realize it was a Thomas day. Unless you have little kids who are gung ho about Thomas - do not go to Strasburg on a Thomas wekekend, the place is a complete zoo).
And yes, the last time I was there not too long ago, they still were playing God Bless America.
I’ve been to many such displays - there’s none like Roadside America, and it will be sad to see it gone. Seems like no one wants the whole place, so they are going to essentially part it out. You may see bits and piece of it in places, but I doubt it will ever all be together in one place ever again.
Unfortuinately I did not win the lottery over the past 3 years.
I remember seeing that electric map when I was little. I had no idea it was still around, I’ll have to check that out.
It’s not like Roadside America is in some nowhere palce, it’s right alongside I-78, a very busy highway. Shartlesville used to be home to probably tyhe best example of PA Dutch food you could find, served family style - Haag’s Hotel. They too are now closed. See Roadside America, and get a great meal. No more.
I think every time we went to RA I saw something different that I missed before or just maybe forgot. I’ll have to go look at some old 35mm photos that I have taken over the years, just to… see it again.
I just stumbled across this thread for the first time tonight. I had never heard of Roadside America, so it was interesting to see photos and videos of the layout. Since it has been around for 85 years, it is a bit sad to learn that it will be torn down and demolished. But, layouts get torn down and demolished all the time, so this isn’t the first and it won’t be the last.
It’s a bit more than just “a layout”. It’s more a living history museum. Still pictures really can’t convey the experience of walking through the display and the various vantage points. I never thought the trains were the focus - they just served to draw your attention to the various structures, all scratchbuilt.